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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Andrew Griffin

Fears over internet theory coming true as AI agents flood the web

  • A new Pew Research Center study reveals that 35 per cent of web pages published since the release of ChatGPT show significant signs of AI editing or authorship.
  • Across a five-year archive of nearly half a million English -language web pages, 10 per cent overall showed significant signs of AI creation.
  • The findings reinforce concerns over the dead internet theory, which suggests the web is increasingly generated and consumed by automated systems rather than humans.
  • The research highlighted a rise in specific AI writing habits, including doubled usage of em dashes and words like delve, with .com websites being the most affected.
  • Researchers used the text-analysis tool Open Pangram on a large web dataset to identify broader statistical trends across the internet.

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